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This page is a translated version of the page Movement Strategy/Events/Documentation/12-13 June and the translation is 40% complete.
Online group from the Global Conversations on 13 June.
Online group from the Global Conversations on 12 June.

On 12 and 13 June, 2021 about seventy Wikimedians convened to discuss the next steps for launching the process of the Movement Charter. Throughout two 4-hour conversations, participants discussed, filled a survey and created an outline of the future Charter. The discussion tackled how the Charter’s Drafting Committee will be set up, including the composition of the committee, the method of selection for members and means to ensure transparency and legitimacy. This page contains a summary of the verbal discussion, along with about 30,000 words of working documents, meeting minutes and chat logs.

Summary

The meeting was divided into two main parts, each focusing on a separate topic:

  1. Scale of the Charter: In the first part of the meeting, participants were asked to imagine how the Movement Charter would look like in practice. The participants split into three groups, discussing three different sections of the Charter on a scale: ranging from the “compass” (direction) to “map” (details), or something in the middle. After the exercise, the participants were able to fill-in a survey to suggest the best level of detail for each section in the Charter. The results showed a tendency towards the “compass/map” (middle option) in most sections.
  2. Drafting Committee of the Charter: In the second part, the Wikimedia Foundation presented a proposal regarding how to move forward with creating the Movement Charter’s Drafting Committee. The presentation was followed by a lengthy group discussion, which included mixed responses to the proposal and, consequently, several alternative proposals. Some of the ideas tackled how to form a representative committee: for example, by including a specific number of members from communities, affiliates and the Foundation (the 7/7/7 model and similar ones). Other ideas tackled how those members can be selected in different combinations of local elections and appointment, in order to ensure diversity, expertise and legitimacy in the group.

The discussion was not wrapped up with a definite conclusion on either topic. The discussion of the Drafting Committee’s composition and selection will be revisited on 26 and 27 June Global Conversations. Meanwhile, feel free to provide your feedback and input on Meta or the relevant discussion space of Movement Strategy in your wiki.

The Scale of the Movement Charter

Video summary of the Charter's scale discussions
12 June Movement Charter scale: Values & principles
12 June Movement Charter scale: Roles & responsibilities
12 June Movement Charter scale: Topical areas
13 June Movement Charter scale: Values & principles
13 June Movement Charter scale: Roles & responsibilities
13 June Movement Charter scale: Topical areas

In the first half of the meeting, participants looked at the topics that the Movement Charter will probably cover, and they discussed  how much detail should be included in each of those topics. For purposes of discussion, the content of the Charter was broadly divided into three sections:

  1. Values and principles
  2. Roles and responsibilities
  3. Topical areas

For each section, the participants created a proposal for how that section may look on three levels of detail: ranging from “compass” (least detailed) to “map” (most detailed), with a middle option in between. Based on these discussions, the following table was created:

[1]

Sekcie návrhov Úrovne detailov
1. Kompas

Smerovanie z výšin

2. Kompas/mapa

Niečo medzi tým

3. Mapa

Podrobné akcie

1. Hodnoty a princípy

Položiť hodnoty, princípy a politický základ

* Hodnoty patria na stranu smerového kompasu – nemôžu príliš popisovať.
  • Princípy by sa mali použiť ako základ pre ďalšie oblasti v Charte, ako napríklad financovanie, riadenie, zastupovanie, atď.
  • Načrtnite zásady, hodnoty a étos, ktoré by mali dodržiavať všetky regulačné orgány
  • Obsahovať silné vyhlásenia Strategického smeru.
  • Charta bude obsahovať ustanovenia pre budúce dodatky a ratifikačné postupy pre dodatky.
  • Reflektovať jasné a použiteľné mandáty, pokiaľ ide o rešpektovanie individuálnych a kolektívnych práv (UNGP môžu byť veľkým referenčným bodom)
  • Kodifikujte vzťah medzi entitami hnutia.
  • Zásady free kultúry: Načrtnite všeobecné ideály free slobôd
  • Wiki zásady: Čo by mala byť wiki?
* Osnova s definíciami zásad a hodnôt.
  • Definovanie elementárnych procesov, ktoré sú založené na uvedených hodnotách a zásadách.
  • Návrhy procesov, ktoré sú založené na uvedených hodnotách a princípoch.
  • Elementárne požiadavky na transparentnosť a inkluzívnosť v štruktúrach
  • Limity množstvo simultánnych konzultácií s dobrovoľníckou komunitou.
  • Faktor v neistej budúcnosti: zmeny v technológiách, politickom a geografickom prostredí si vyžadujú flexibilnú chartu
* Osnova s definíciami zásad a hodnôt.
  • Definovanie elementárnych procesov, ktoré sú založené na uvedených hodnotách a zásadách.
  • Politiky, ktoré prakticky podporujú hodnoty a princípy v aktuálnom kontexte
  • Free culture principles: Clearly define the boundaries of requirements regarding use of free licenses, open content, and open source
  • Wiki Principles: What are a project’s rights, that orgs may not interfere with?non-negotiable process for changing the Movement Charter.
  • Clearer definition of transparency with guidelines for reaching that transparency: for example, how movement bodies report back to the community.
2. Úlohy a povinnosti

Stanoviť úlohy a povinnosti entít …

  • Globálny koncil
  • Regionálne a Tematické centrá (huby)
  • Existujúce subjekty a rozhodovacie orgány
  • Úloha personálu
Štruktúra riadenia, vzájomné vzťahy a rozhodovanie
  • Structure & Scope of movement.
  • Definition of each major functional group/actor in the movement
  • Governance Model: High-level overview of each entity’s general responsibilities.
  • Define the process of termination of any entity which might not follow movement charter.
  • Good and regular coordination between all the stakeholders
  • Future amendments: Outline governance roles and structure for amendments
  • Define legal constraints of existing decision making bodies and how that might affect the future responsibilities.
  • Define the grievance redressal system and conflict resolution system hierarchy among these entities in future
* Základné podrobnosti o povinnostiach jednotlivých štruktúr hnutia.
  • Pravidelná koordinácia medzi všetkými zainteresovanými stranami
  • Definícia povinnosti jednotlivých štruktúr alebo entít hnutia.
  • Jasne ustanoviť vzťahy medzi entitami hnutia a ako vzájomné pôsobia.
  • Definovať postupy pre riešenie sporov.
  • There might be legal challenges that make it difficult to implement the “map” model.
  • Governance playbook that outlines the purpose, role and responsibilities, accountability, size, method of representation and selection, for every entity.
  • Detailed descriptions of governance roles of and power relations between different entities.
  • Recognition and derecognition: How a new entity can become a movement entity, or cease to be.
  • Explain how support will be given for underrepresented communities to participate in decision-making.
Global Council
  • Structure & Scope of Global Council
  • Ensure extreme transparency and accountability related to power, money etc.
* Definovania rozhodovacej právomoci Globálnej rady v mene hnutia
  • Veľkosť a zloženie Globálnej rady vrátane spôsobu výberu členov.
  • Podporné štruktúry a pre Globálnu radu: ako sú zamestnanci, predstavenstvo atď.
  • Clear definition of difference in responsibilities between Wikimedia Board and Global Council.
  • Membership of the Global Council, including: membership types criteria, duties, rights and selection/removal basis of members
Hubs
  • Define financial relationship between hubs and existing affiliates
  • Define how to sustain the existing affiliates in terms of staff support, office and finance.
  • Empower minority affiliates within the Charter
* Načrtnite operačný rámec pre regionálne centrá
  • Two different (quantitative and qualitative) approaches to recognising and supporting new leadership.
Politiky a postupy a ďalšie témy
  • Ensure the autonomy and independence of online project communities
  • Core details on (s)election & structure for new bodies
* Pokyny pre výberové konania: Nie nevyhnutne rovnaké pre každý región alebo entitu.
  • Referencie na politiky, ktoré ďalej upravujú oblasti, ktoré nie sú regulované v charte
  • Implementing Rules & Regulations, including the regulation documents to be created by policy-making bodies.
3. Aktuálne oblasti

Nastavte požiadavky a kritériá pre rozhodnutia a procesy pre …

Zdôvodnenie každej možnosti Kritériá spolupráce a prostriedkov musia byť pod kompasom kvôli rôznym kontextom, na ktoré sa v rámci hnutia vzťahujú. Univerzálny kódex správania je v súčasnosti veľmi podrobným a samostatným dokumentom. Podrobné informácie sú dobré, pokiaľ sa jedná o problémy súvisiace so zdravím Spoločenstva.
Zaistenie bezpečnosti v situáciách počas spolupráce a v tých prostrediach * Odkaz na Univerzálny kódex správania - bez zahrnutia priameho textu z UCOC.
  • Záväzok hnutia udržiavať bezpečné a kolaboratívne prostredie.
* Záväzok hnutia dodržiavať bezpečné a kolaboratívne prostredie so všeobecnými pokynmi
  • Detailed list of unacceptable behaviour on the movement and a detailed set of procedures to prevent it.

Defining how communities

work together and are accountable to each other

* Definovanie zásad spolupráce * Náčrt očakávaní účasti a ich práv
  • Znížiť jazykovú bariéru, zvýšiť ochotu menšinovým jazykom sa zapájať v hnutí
Detailné stanovenie očakávaní účastníkov a ich práv.
Stanovenie očakávaní pre

účasť a práva

účastníkov

Všeobecné stanovenie očakávaní účastníkov a ich práv. * Definovanie zásad spolupráce a navrhnutie postupov.
  • Definition of collaboration principles and detailed procedures.
Zabezpečenie vytvárania a distribúcie finančných prostriedkov pomocou vhodne zodpovedných mechanizmov
  • An outline of responsibilities for revenue generation and resource allocation in the movement.
  • General principles for eligibility for using and receiving movement funds
  • Reasoning of why we generate funds
  • All entities in the movement are allowed to raise funds.
  • Creating a Funds Dissemination Committee of the Global Council to allocate resources, possibly with regional committees.
* Náčrt povinností a všeobecných pokynov pre získavanie príjmu a získavanie prostriedkov v hnutí
  • Všeobecné zásady a pokyny oprávňujúce k použitiu a čerpania fondov hnutia, so zabezpečením rovnakého prístupu pre všetkých.
  • Spolupráca a príjmy musia byť prepojené. Silní partneri a organizácie musia prevziať zodpovednosť za tých menších.
  • An outline of the responsibilities and detailed procedures for revenue generation and resource allocation in the movement
  • General principles and detailed criteria for eligibility for using and receiving movement funds
  • Detailed red lines regarding revenue generation and distribution.

Preferences polling and discussion

After completing the table shown above, participants had the chance to express their preference for the level of detail in the Movement Charter for each of the sections above. The results of the polling were the following (the table shows the results of the polling on June 12th and 13th, consecutively):

Sekcie Charty hnutia Podsekcie Kompas Kompas/mapa Mapa
Hodnoty & princípy 13+19 5+14 1+5
Úlohy a zodpovednosti subjektov … Globálna rada 2+8 11+16 6+14
Roly hub (centier) 2+7 12+16 4+13
Existujúce subjekty 2+10 13+20 3+6
Aktuálne oblasti Bezpečné prostredie pre spoluprácu 5+18 9+14 5+6
Ako komunity spolupracujú
Očakávania & práva účastníkov
Generovanie a distribúcia tržieb 2+11 13+17 4+11
Rozdelenie zdrojov

The reactions towards the polling results focused on the strong inclination of respondents to choose the “middle option” as a safer or more balanced alternative. Several people suggested using a scale with four options from “strong compass” to “strong map”, thus excluding the neutral or hybrid choice. “If there are consequences [to polling opinions]”, someone said, “you need to take out the middle option”.[2]

Roles and responsibilities was a particular area of interest, for its tendency towards the “map” and “compass/map” options. It was mentioned that it is exceptionally important to describe the details of this area, which may otherwise create conflict or encourage power to be kept “towards the power group”.[2]

The Drafting Committee

Composition

Slides presented during the events, including the Wikimedia Foundation's proposal for setting up a Drafting Committee.

The diversity and expertise of the Drafting Committee were major topics for discussion. The Wikimedia Foundation presented a proposal for a diversity and expertise matrix, where the matrix would be used to select the Committee’s members.

While the reactions towards the two matrices were mostly positive, there were also several gaps, additions and comments. One potential gap in diversity is people with disabilities.[3] Language is also a key aspect of diversity: the majority of the community are not fluent English speakers, and many feel like outsiders when trying to join complicated conversations in the English language[3][2] (for instance, this discussion). This could be mitigated by more language support, or by decentralizing the conversation across regions, although that will prevent sharing ideas across different communities.[3][4]

Expertise is also critical for the success of the Drafting Committee. The definition of expertise, however, was not distinctly clear. For example, how can a certain expertise be objectively assessed or demonstrated? Some specific aspects of expertise that were stressed are in the financial and legal fields.[3]

There was less alignment on the exact composition of the Drafting Committee. Since the suggested number of members ranged from 10 to 20 people,[3] it would be impossible to reflect the enormous diversity of the movement in such a small group. Proposals for the composition of the group included the Following:

  • Geographical basis: For example, by selecting two people from each of the “grant committees' regions”,[2] two people from each continent[3] or from each hub.[2] It would be hard to use any more detailed criteria than continents or broad regions.[3]
  • Affiliation basis: Including the 7/7/7 proposal, featuring an equal number of members from online communities, affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation. Alternatively, an adjustment to a 9/3/3 representation, of the same groups in the same order, was suggested.[2]
  • Filling expertise gaps: In either case of the above, gaps in expertise can be filled by recruiting short-term members,[3] or by appointing additional members later.[2]
  • Two groups: Instead of limiting expertise and diversity to a single group, it was also suggested to create two consecutive drafting committees.[3][2] This will reduce concerns about the particular composition of each group, while also giving more people the chance to participate in the process.[2] As a downside, the transition between the first and second committees will lengthen the process.

Selection

Although the goals for diversity and expertise were, overall, points of agreement, the means to reach them seem to be less so. Even if the criteria are clear, the method of selecting members of the Drafting Committee still matters, with various proposals showing up throughout the event.

Appointment

The Wikimedia Foundation presented a proposal with an expertise focus. In the proposal, interested candidates would self-nominate themselves to join the committee, and will then be appointed in reference to the matrices of diversity and expertise.

The reactions were mixed. Many were concerned about who will be appointing the committee’s members, remarking that no single body or entity should “own the process”, including that of selecting the committee. There were also various concerns about the “legitimacy” of this method. Arguments in favour mentioned that, if the process is well-designed to integrate feedback, it would not be so important “who are the drafters”.[2]

Elections

Open elections were proposed as a selection method that is “in the spirit of the movement”. Many referred to the similar discussion that took place during the January Global Conversations, where there had been a broad support for “supermajority of elected seats” on the Interim Global Council. While there was some support for the proposal, it was pointed out that “Relying only on elections” can ensure neither diversity nor expertise.[2]

The elections do not have to be global: they can take place locally or regionally, with each region electing its own representative (for example: Asian communities electing two representatives on their behalf). A response from that Foundation was that members of the Drafting Committee should be “representing the movement” with everyone in it, rather than individual communities or regions.[2]

Hybrid model

To balance out the need for diversity/expertise with an election process, a hybrid model was suggested. The model includes local on-wiki elections to choose geographically-distributed representatives of the community. Then, the remaining gaps in expertise or diversity can be filled with further appointments.[2]

Other ideas

Other ideas for the selection process:

  • Two-step process: 1. Self-nomination and selection, then 2. Filling-in gaps through outreach or appointments.[3]
  • Self-nomination: While it can apply to all of the selection methods above, self-nomination was broadly supported as a part of the process.[3] Some downsides, however, are that many underrepresented groups may be reluctant to nominate themselves, which means that proactive outreach and support for them to participate.[3][2]
  • Peer-nomination: People can nominate others with the consent of those nominated.[3]
  • Elections from a shortlist: Candidates can nominate themselves, a selection group shortlists the names that have then to pass through a community’s lightweight voting process.[2]
  • Core appointment with elections: A core group is appointed who, independently, proceed to fill-in the gaps of expertise and diversity through both further appointments and organizing local elections.[2]

Decision-making

“Trust” was a recurring theme in the discussion, often seen as a prerequisite for the entire process which, by itself, requires a “transparent” way to make decisions.[2] “Transparency is not about communicating decisions transparently”, a participant mentioned, “but about a transparent decision-making process”.

[3]

Part of this process would be in holding “multiple BROAD feedback rounds” for the Movement Charter, which should include underrepresented communities (even if they have “representatives” on the Drafting Committee). But even if there is extensive feedback, there should still be an overall ratification process which, for some, should be through “Meta-wiki sign-off”, or by having “3 proposals written up” for the community to decide from.

[2]

Next steps

Some proposed next steps were, generally, to come up with a “clear road map” and a “point of action”, possibly by focusing on moving forward with points of agreement. It was mentioned that the proposals should be written up and shared with the wider community, rather than the relatively small group that was present during the discussion.

[2]

Feedback

Slides containing a summary of the feedback evaluation from the Global Conversations.

Preparation and presentation documents

footnotes

  1. Note: The table is a combined version of two different tables created on Saturday (12 June) and Sunday (13 June).
  2. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 13 June: General notes.
  3. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 12 June: General notes.
  4. A participant shared more thoughts on the issue at: User:Ellif/S2030.

Sources

Saturday 12 June

Sunday 13 June